


The Landscape Of Merry And Desperate Drought.

by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels)



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Consent Issues, Feudalism, M/M, Non-Negotiated Kink, Obedience, POV Ivan Vorpatril, Power Imbalance, Season of Kink 2019, Time Period: Reign of Gregor Vorbarra, enforced chastity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 09:01:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20112541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannamichaels/pseuds/Lanna%20Michaels
Summary: In which Gregor has opinions about Ivan's sex life and Ivan obeys his Emperor.





	The Landscape Of Merry And Desperate Drought.

**Author's Note:**

> For my Obedience square for 2019 Season of Kink. The title is from Drought by Vienna Teng.

1.

"Don't have sex this week."

Gregor's voice is just this side of Imperial and Ivan stops right in his tracks about five feet from the door. He looks over his shoulder at Gregor, who looks like nothing more than a man waiting for Ivan to finish leaving his study already. Um, okay? Ivan turns back and faces the door. Right. He can do this.

Ivan nods in acknowledgment and finishes leaving his Emperor in peace.

2.

Briefly, Ivan wonders if Gregor's doing this as some kind of favor to Ivan's mother, but he quickly dismisses the idea. It'd be really weird. Mama wouldn't ask Gregor for that, she'd just tell Ivan herself. And Gregor probably wouldn't do it for her anyway. No, this has to be something Gregor thought up.

But why? Why does Gregor care? If he thinks there's a security problem with Ivan's behavior, this isn't how Ivan gets told about it. He gets told about it in official ImpSec missives or, sometimes, Simon Illyan himself pulling him to the side to tell him to stop trying to sleep with a member of the Cetagandan delegation.

No, this can't be Gregor not liking that Ivan has a fifth date planned with Patricia Voraiken and that, until now, Ivan and Patty had had certain plans regarding it. Ivan likes Patty. But it's only a week. They can reschedule for after the week is over. This isn't a disaster. This is just Gregor doing... something. Something Ivan won't ask about. He's not going to blink first. He's going to do what the Emperor told him, same as he always does. If this is Gregor's idea of a prank, Ivan's not going to ruin it by asking questions. Ivan will just obey and then get through it. And then once it's over, he can get started on forgetting it ever happened.

3.

The next time, Gregor says, "make it two weeks", and Ivan starts getting very, very suspicious. He opens his mouth to argue, or, at least, to gently question his Emperor, but Gregor crosses his arms and Ivan suddenly remembers that he left some paperwork undone at HQ and desperately needs to fill it out before the meeting tomorrow morning.

By the time Gregor orders him not to have sex for a month, Ivan thinks he could weep.

But next time, though. Next time. He is resolved that next time, he's going to ask Gregor _why_.

Or maybe the time after that.

4.

At least Gregor hasn't told him that he can't masturbate.

5.

Ivan doesn't even want to think about how long it's been since the first time Gregor decided to order around his sex life when Ivan finally gets up the nerve to ask the Emperor what he thinks he's doing with his orders.

"Seeing what happens," Gregor says and then leaves a gap of silence welcoming Ivan to put forward any words to fill it.

Ivan just gapes at him. "This is your idea of fun?"

Gregor shrugs. Ivan supposes Gregor really isn't in a position to get a lot of fun. Micro-managing Ivan's life is pretty harmless compared to what some of their ancestors got up to when they were bored. Ivan shouldn't complain. He knows how much worse this can get.

"So what's happened?" Ivan ventures.

"You've obeyed me," Gregor says, sounding like it wasn't something that could be taken as a given. Ivan is affronted. Of course he obeyed Gregor. He doesn't need things prettied up in formal Imperial ceremony for Ivan to understand that Gregor's word is law.

"Did you play this game with someone who _didn't_?" Ivan asks before realizing abruptly that no, he absolutely does not want to know that. "Never mind," he adds quickly. Gregor's lips twitch into a smile.

"How long do you think you can go?" Gregor asks him, thankfully, instead of answering Ivan's stupid question. Ivan would absolutely pick choosing his own doom over having to consider who else in Gregor's orbit might also be dealing with a staggered sex life on Imperial whim.

And this is a horrible question, though, because Ivan's been told over and over again that when the Emperor asks you what your limits are, you tell the Emperor that you can do whatever he wants you to do. If Gregor wants Ivan celibate for the rest of his life, Ivan's supposed to say that's doable. He's supposed to volunteer that information to someone who can make sure Ivan never ever has sex again.

Oh, Ivan supposes he might be able to get special permission if he gets married, but that would mean _getting married_. Ivan would take celibacy over that; Ivan's got his priorities straight.

So Ivan pulls in a deep breath and says, "as long as you need me to, sire," and then damns the day he was born.

And Gregor, lovely Gregor, says, "oh, I don't need it to be _that_ long." And then he presses his fingers together and says, "until Winterfair. You can give me a different answer then if you need to."

6.

At Winterfair, Ivan gives Gregor the same answer, hating every single word out of his mouth. Ivan doesn't think he can remember sex anymore. He's definitely not sure the last time he had it. He really, really, really misses it. Sex is fun and Ivan isn't allowed to have fun, because Gregor's having fun instead. Ivan wonders how often Gregor reminds himself that Ivan's suffering just because Gregor told him to. Ivan wonders if it makes Gregor laugh.

The court jester, that's Ivan.

The day after Winterfair, Ivan trudges over to the Residence through waist-high snow, feeling a little too angry and hoping the mood fades by the time he sees Gregor. Thankfully, Gregor keeps him waiting for four hours. When Ivan is ushered in to see Gregor, Gregor looks harried and his hair is a mess like he's been running his fingers through it between crises.

This was probably not the best day to try to negotiate a break in the sex blockade. Gregor looks busy. Ivan should come back.

But instead of throwing Ivan out, or giving him the chance to gracefully excuse himself, Gregor signals to the armsmen for refreshments and then plops down onto the couch next to Ivan.

"Rough day?" Ivan asks.

Gregor drops his head back to lean against the wall. "Yes," he says.

"Oh," Ivan says.

Gregor closes his eyes. "Ivan," he starts, "tell me about the last time you really wanted to have sex."

Ivan chokes. Um. This is-- Gregor wants a distraction? Gregor wants something to think about that isn't whatever is haphazardly thrown around his desk? Gregor wants to hear about someone obeying him instead of all the people giving him headaches right now? There's probably a lot of people disobeying the Emperor's will for the Emperor to look like this when Winterfair's barely over.

"I was talking to Debra Kanzian at Lady Cecilia's party two nights ago," Ivan says. "Uh, she had red nails and she kept putting one of them against her bottom lip. She mentioned that I'd learned to be discreet lately and she liked that. She, uh--"

"She liked it enough to have a discreet affair with you," Gregor fills in.

"Right," Ivan says, relieved that he doesn't have to explain too much to Gregor about the goings-on at parties that it would be degrading for Gregor to attend. "She told me that her apartment was close by and that her sister wasn't home. And she was gorgeous, Gregor, absolutely gorgeous. She had this silver dress that spun when she moved and it caught the light constantly, I couldn't take my eyes off her. Her earrings were emeralds and framing her neck. Everyone was looking at her and she wanted to have sex with _me_. And," Ivan says, watching Gregor closely, "and I had to tell her no. I had to say sorry, but I couldn't."

And Ivan isn't imagining the light flush on Gregor's cheeks.

And Ivan's really desperate and also Gregor looks like he needs someone to give him several relaxing orgasms and maybe also a backrub, so that's the only reason at all that Ivan asks, "could I get an exception if I do it with you?"

Gregor, for the first time, looks conflicted. "That wasn't what I meant," he says.

Well, yeah. If Gregor had, he'd probably have said something. "I know," Ivan says.

And Gregor does not look like that's an invitation he wants to decline. Ivan supposes he can add 'seducer of Emperors' to his resume.

"Later," Gregor says and dismisses Ivan, telling him to come back later if he wants.

If he _wants_.

After all this, Ivan thinks, disgruntled, it's not fair for Gregor to turn this into Ivan having to acknowledge that he wants this. Gregor's put Ivan through too much already. He shouldn't add that on top of it all. It's really not fair.

7.

Not that Ivan had had any expectations, but if he had, he wouldn't have expected the sex restrictions to continue even after it started being the Emperor he was sleeping with. He would have expected something other than Gregor saying, "hm, not until the end of the month, I think," and then leaving it up to Ivan if he wanted to consider that an order. Which Ivan always did; better safe than treasonous.

The worst time was when Gregor was kissing him and then lowered his hand to touch him and then he apologetically pulled his hand away, saying "I forgot the date." And then Ivan just stood there, waiting, wondering, and Gregor kissed him one last time and stopped. Gregor's self-control is horrifying.

So this is definitely a game that Gregor enjoys on multiple levels, which Ivan is sure is fine. Except he's the one who keeps not having sex just because of it. Probably. He still doesn't know if Gregor's playing this game with anyone else.

It does, admittedly, make the sex they _do_ have into something much better. Ivan's got a lot of frustration here. It's a pretty amazing experience when he gets to work it out in bed with Gregor. But it's all the times that they don't that's driving him up the wall. Gregor, Ivan thinks, seems to like not-having sex about as much he likes having sex, and worst of all, he's pushing it onto Ivan as well.

And Ivan knows exactly how to stop this. 

And, yet, he's not. He's not stopping any of this.

Once this is over, Ivan's going to have a really warped expectations about sex, he laments privately. He's going to think that sex is feast or famine. He's going to expect mind-blowing orgasms when he finally gets to have them.

Gregor Vorbarra is ruining him for anyone else. It's probably not on purpose. Probably. If Gregor was going to take the game that far, he'd probably warn Ivan first. Right? Ivan really wants to think that.

8.

Thankfully, when Gregor sends Ivan off to Earth, he doesn't send him along with any orders about what he can do with his dick. Considering how close Ivan came to dying there, he'd have been really annoyed if he'd nearly gotten killed and also hadn't had any sex lately. It would have made dying so much worse.

He's welcomed home two weeks after he makes planet fall by one of Gregor's armsmen handing him a letter telling him that he needs to wait until the Emperor's Birthday to have any fun.

That's seven months away.

Ivan, not for the first time, considers just how desperate Gregor must be for entertainment that this is how he gets it. Then Ivan agrees to six dates that his mother set up for him, since Ivan isn't going to be able to have sex after those dates anyway. Maybe this _is_ all just some kind of conspiracy between Ivan's mother and Gregor to get Ivan compliant enough to meet the women that Ivan's mother wants him to meet. If Ivan ends up married, it's gonna be all Gregor's fault.

But Gregor's probably not that underhanded. If he wanted Ivan to get married, he'd just tell him. The last five years of Ivan's life have been an exhibit in Gregor giving him orders to get what he wants out of him. Ivan shouldn't assume marriage would be any different.

So Ivan endures, doing his best not to even get his hopes up, and spending a lot of quality personal time with the collection of toys he's built up.

And after the Birthday Ball, Gregor takes him upstairs, puts him on his hands and knees, and fucks him until he blacks out from the orgasm. So, Ivan can't complain too much.

9.

"Why have you never objected?" Gregor demands. It would sound a lot more authoritative if Gregor wasn't in the middle of kissing his way across Ivan's back. Still, it has an aura of Imperial oomph behind it.

Ivan... squirms. "There's never been a reason to?" Ivan tries. Gregor bites him and Ivan presses his forehead into the mattress. "If I don't have objections," Ivan tries again, voice going a little higher, "I'm not going to invent any."

Gregor grumbles something about why Ivan got all the genes for liking doing what he was told and certain other people got none of them. Ivan chooses to ignore that for the sake of his sanity.

"This whole thing was your idea, Gregor," Ivan whines. "Why is it my responsibility to stop it?"

Gregor pauses like Ivan had said something profound. Ivan mentally reviews that and decides, no, that wasn't anything profound at all. All is right in the world. Gregor probably got distracted by something else.

"It's not," Gregor says and then goes back to fucking him, so Ivan isn't going to think about that too hard.

10.

"It was supposed to be a little bit of fun," Gregor says and if Ivan didn't know him, he'd say he was peeved. "You were supposed to ask me if I'd gone crazy. You were supposed to think I wasn't serious. You weren't supposed to actually do it."

Ivan blinks at him. So this was a prank. Fine, he'd known that. "You're the Emperor," Ivan points out. Left unsaid is that Ivan doesn't think it's his job to tell the Emperor that he's crazy. That's above his pay grade.

Gregor groans. "And you're _Ivan_," he says. "You once stole my clothes before the Birthday Review."

"I was also seven," Ivan points out in his own defense. And he'd caught enough hell from that to teach him a lesson about teasing Emperors. Gregor is not an appropriate target for Ivan's sense of humor. That Ivan is an appropriate target for Gregor's sense of humor is just part of the way the Vor system works, Ivan figures.

"So then it became a _challenge_," Gregor continues. "And you kept on obeying me."

Ivan would rather obey the Emperor when he shouldn't than disobey the Emperor when he shouldn't. Ivan had naturally assumed that went without saying. Gregor knows he's the Emperor, right? And this is all sounding like Gregor thinks Ivan has no self-control. And Ivan's self-control may not rival the Emperor's, but he does still have it. It's only that Gregor has preternatural self-control. He has to have that just to be able to sit through Counts sessions. Ivan yawns at the very thought of them. But Ivan not being at Gregor's level of denial doesn't mean that Ivan can't obey simple orders.

"You're the Emperor," Ivan repeats.

"I'm also your cousin Gregor," says his cousin Gregor. Ivan just shrugs, so Gregor says, "Ivan, if you like me telling you when you can have sex, now's the time to say so. Otherwise, I won't ever do it again."

Ivan doesn't date for very long. It gives his mother ideas. Over the years, her standards have lowered for who would be an appropriate wife for Ivan. These days, if Ivan goes out with someone once, that's enough for his mother. So, really, Gregor's been doing Ivan a favor. Because while Gregor never told him not to date, Ivan likes the kinds of dates that can include sex. Cutting off that possibility cuts off most of Ivan's desire for going on dates in the first place. But it's also keeping him unmarried. And if he has an Imperial order in his back pocket about his sex life, that should also help him avoid marriage, right? Ivan's not sure, but he's willing to try. His mother has been getting very insistent lately about grandchildren.

"I like it," Ivan says. 

Gregor looks extremely relieved. "Two months and I don't want you jerking off either."

Ivan's jaw drops open. No! That's unfair! Ivan never said--

But there's a twinkle in Gregor's eye and it's a challenge and if Ivan gets scared off now, he's not getting what he wants later. He's got to take the whole package.

"Fine," Ivan grumbles. "_My liege_."

He's rewarded by Gregor looking annoyed.

+1.

The resultant orgasm when Gregor puts his hands on Ivan's dick is, embarrassingly, worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> [this post on dreamwidth](https://lannamichaels.dreamwidth.org/1057117.html); [this post on tumblr](https://lannamichaels.tumblr.com/post/186775245055/the-landscape-of-merry-and-desperate-drought)


End file.
